Our beloved chaplain of fond memory, Father Michael Jarecki, used to insist on this all the time, even going so far as to refuse to celebrate birthdays. In his own humorous way, Father used to saw that our birthday should not be an honor for us, born in sin, but for our mothers. They deserve to be honored, we don’t.

The Church only celebrates three birthdays, Our Lord’s, Our Lady’s, and Saint John the Baptist’s. The Baptist was sanctified in his mother’s womb, so to honor that holy event, his birthday, June 24, is a liturgical feast day.

In this Angelus Message, Pope Francis, seems to be correcting his own statement of last Tuesday, given during his announcement for the Year’s Prayer Intentions, that non-Christians are also “children of God.” Here is part of what the Holy Father said yesterday:

CNA: In his Sunday Angelus remarks Pope Francis stressed the importance of both knowing and celebrating the day of our baptism, since it is through the sacrament that we become children of God.

“I ask you a question: who among you remembers the day of their baptism?” the Pope asked during his Jan. 10 Angelus address, marking the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. . . . Baptism is important to celebrate [he said] because “it’s the date of our rebirth as children of God.” Read more here.